Thursday, October 13, 2011

More on out coach Charley Sullivan

Charley Sullivan says it's OK to be "outrageously queer," even in sports.

A longtime coach, Sullivan has been out his entire coaching career, even though in his field many stay closeted. Those who dare to come out make headlines - such as former Phoenix Suns CEO and President Rick Welts, who hid being gay for 40-plus years as he worked his way up in the industry.But Sullivan, a successful varsity rowing coach at the University of Michigan, has decided not to hide anything. He hopes one day that gay athletes are as unapologetically out as he is, and he's working hard to make that happen. First, he's setting an excellent example.

'The big queer guy'

Sullivan blew up the gay blogosphere recently with a column on the popular blog Out Sports. In his essay, he proclaimed that not only is he out, but at times he's even "outrageously queer" when he manages a team. What does he mean by that? He means that he's completely unafraid to be exactly who he is - even if that self is more than a little gay.

"I've found that the best way to let guys be comfortable and know that I'm comfortable is to tell jokes," Sullivan says. "I will tell gay jokes. I will take their jokes among themselves and I will turn the double entendre queer."
Sullivan speaks of the Equality Coaching Alliance, an initiative launched by the Federation of Gay Games:

Thanks to his years as a coach and the contacts he's made, Sullivan knows he's not the only gay male coach out there. He wants to create a space to organize and unify coaches like him.

Sullivan is part of a group called the Equality Coaching Alliance. The group is so new that it doesn't even have a website yet, just a Facebook fan page. The idea behind the alliance is to provide a space for coaches to deal with coming out issues, whether it's their own or their athletes'.

The alliance could also provide a unified voice of gay coaches.

"As these sort of gay athletic issues keep coming up now, with professional athletes being fined for homophobic remarks, professional teams making 'It Gets Better' videos - which I think is spectacular - I think there's also a desire to make sure the people who comment on this from the gay community also know about athletics," Sullivan says.